I think the song is about the reality of living in the hood vs what they show you on tv. The first verse talks all about this neighborhood he lives in, with crackheads and drivebys and all sorts of other dangerous things. The second verse describes the rap video scenario, where rappers try to glamorize hood life by showing naked women and blinged-out weapons while still being thug. He knows that's not the right life, even though he was involved in it before ("I had to turn my back on what got you paid/I couldn't see, had the hood on me like Abu Ghraib"). He's acknowledging his life in the hood, I think.
I think the song is about the reality of living in the hood vs what they show you on tv. The first verse talks all about this neighborhood he lives in, with crackheads and drivebys and all sorts of other dangerous things. The second verse describes the rap video scenario, where rappers try to glamorize hood life by showing naked women and blinged-out weapons while still being thug. He knows that's not the right life, even though he was involved in it before ("I had to turn my back on what got you paid/I couldn't see, had the hood on me like Abu Ghraib"). He's acknowledging his life in the hood, I think.